1. Field of the Invention:
The present invention relates to an apparatus for positioning a work implement in predetermined operative positions and more particularly to an apparatus which has utility when employed to position variously designed hay rakes in selected operative positions relative to a predetermined path of travel, and with respect to a selected work surface, for the performance of assorted raking operations, the apparatus imparting improved performance characteristics to a hay rake which is so equipped.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
The beneficial effects of employing variously designed hay rakes for the purposes of performing the assorted tasks associated with the harvesting of a specific variety of crop have long been known. Such a hay rake is disclosed in Letters U.S. Pat. No. 4,343,142 to Allen. While hay rakes of various designs have operated with varying degrees of success, they commonly possess shortcomings which have detracted from their usefulness.
For example, hay rakes having the basket type, or alternatively, the wheel rake type design have heretofore been individually mounted on an earth traversing frame and adapted to be positioned in various attitudes with respect to a predetermined path of travel for purposes of performing assorted raking tasks on a selected crop, like hay. The objective of these devices has been to develop a hay rake apparatus which is operable to perform a variety of different raking operations individually suited to the drying conditions of the crop to be harvested or alternatively is utilized to rake the hay into windrows for subsequent retrieval from the field by a hay bailer.
The prior art devices have accomplished these assorted raking operations by being modified, in various manners, whenever a different type of raking operation is performed. In some instances, the individual hay rakes must be disconnected or otherwise disassembled from their individual support assemblies and repositioned relative to each other and with respect to the path of travel for the specific raking operation to be performed. In other instances the earth traversing frame, which mounts each of the hay rakes, is adjusted in a fashion such that the individual hay rake devices are disposed in predetermined spaced relation one with the other, and with respect to the path of travel, to perform various raking operations.
While these assorted modifications may individually, in some instances, be relatively easy to implement, the individual hay rake devices currently utilized present other problems which result from characteristics inherent in their design. For example, the prior art hay rakes have not been capable of being modified such that they can be rendered operable to rake a crop in an inwardly disposed direction, that is, towards the path of travel of the earth traversing frame. Further, the prior art devices have generally been difficult or time consuming to adjust for specific operational conditions. For example, wheel rakes are damaged from time to time when they individually encounter obstructions when disposed in operative positions, the commercially available wheel rakes being incapable of substantially rapid adjustment relative to a work surface while the rakes are in operation.
Therefore, it has long been known that it would be desirable to have an apparatus for positioning a work implement, and which has particular utility when installed as an operable subassembly on a hay rake, the apparatus operable substantially to reduce the time and labor required to modify such a hay rake for particular raking operations while simultaneously increasing the versatility of the hay rake with the attendant benefits to be derived from such increased versatility.